The Marble Cracks
by MyFandomMindPalace
Summary: Eponine has always longed for Marius but when she finds out that Enjolras , The Marble Man , has finally been cracked and by herself she has to reconsider whether she is truly in love with Marius or whether it is a childish crush. This is a story of how Eponine learns that she has for so long denied the love that she truly deserved.
1. I am not the one who broke you

Marius ran down the stairs of the Café Musain and the whole of the Les Amis knew why he was moving so fast, there was a shadow moving on the street. Her green cloak was not something that Eponine could afford nor was the skittish way that she moved part of Eponine's nature , all the other women were in the tavern with the Les Amis so the only person they could deduce it to be was Cosette. Eponine came out from the toilets and all she saw was the back of Marius' coat tails sweep down the staircase and Enjolras sighed as he watched her shoulders hunch and she went to sit by the window.

Eponine stared out of the window and she saw Marius embrace Cosette and take her towards his house, she longed for him to stare at her that way, she longed to be the one that he was taking home, she longed for him to call her more than a friend.

Enjolras watched her and he felt a sickening thud fall to the bottom of his stomach, he knew that she would never stop loving Marius, he inwardly laughed at himself for he was supposed to be the marble man the one that no one could get too but the marble had cracked and the hammer that had cracked it could still not see the damage she had done. She could not see what was in front of her. Marius was an idiot. She was beautiful, there was no other word for it, the years of living on the streets had hardened her and that was Enjolras loved about her she was not another bourgeois to a penny thing; Eponine was special. Her intelligence spanned over many subjects and whatever was in Marius' books was nothing compared to the education you could receive when you are trying to avoid your father's gang's wandering hands.

He grabbed his beer and sat down to her, she didn't flinch once. "Are you ready?" Enjolras had a very abrupt manner and did not like to beat about the bush about things, well on most things. Eponine knew that he was talking about the revolution that Marius had insisted she stay clear away from but she was to deep in now , the Les Amis were her only family now and she would not abandon them. She slipped her fingers around the handle of the bottle of wine Grantaire had passed her before. "I am ready, I am ready to fight" Eponine never looked at Enjolras once; She could not bear to look at him and be patronized once again. Her eyes began to well up with tears and she refused to let them fall, Eponine Thénadier was not one for crying and she was not going to let The Marble Man see any bit of emotion leak through. "You should not fight but be prepared for us to die, be prepared for_ him_ to die, you should stay with the other women" Enjolras knew that he would be distraught if she were to die but if he was to die she would not care as long as Marius was fine. Enjolras' brow furrowed and his eyes darkened. Love was a mystery to The Marble Man and he did not like the way that it filled every part of him, the way that he yearned to hold her in his arms and kiss her forehead and tell her everything was going to be ok but she would never give up on _her _Marius. They all knew the risk that they were all about to face and Enjolras knew best the price they would have to pay for France's freedom. "I will stay with my family if that is ok sir" Eponine still refused to look at Enjolras so he placed his hand on her face and made her look at him.

He cupped her face and she did not move her eyes remained dead.

"I have known you now Eponine 3 years, the day Marius brought you to us you called me sir and I asked you to call me Enjolras, you have not called me Sir for 3 years now, do not take your anger out on me Miss Thénadier because I am not the one who broke you!" He dropped her face like it was on fire and he shrunk away from her, Eponine pushed her stool back and went to join the men downstairs. Enjolras put his head in his hands until he heard someone's footsteps coming back upstairs , he put his hand on his gun until he saw it was Eponine she ran across the room and kissed him on the forehead , " I'm sorry" she said mournfully , tonight she needed to be alone , she needed to be on her own


	2. Do you hear the people sing?

Eponine inhaled and exhaled quickly, her heart was pounding in her ears and she suddenly became light headed. She slowly lowered herself against a wall and she began to think about what had just happened between her and Enjolras, she had always been so stuck on Marius that she had never taken a step back to look around and see that there was somebody else who loved her. She loved Marius but if he could never love her then would she be able to let herself love another, Enjolras was kind and sweet and she suddenly realised that she had turned a deep shade of red when she thought about the way his muscular frame compared to Marius' own slender one. Enjolras was beautiful but he was not Marius. He did not make Eponine's heart leap when he walked into the room, he did not cause her to take another breath if he accidentally brushed against her.

Eponine found herself imagining a situation, if it were between comforting her or Cosette on their deathbeds then Eponine was sure that Marius would run to Cosette. It did not matter to him all that Eponine had done for him.

The streets began to shimmer and the rain fell onto Eponine , she lay on the pavement to afraid to go home but so confused she could not go back to the Tavern. She curled into a ball and closed her eyes; she knew if she was going to die this would be her way to go with no fuss. She began to sing almost deliriously to herself in a soft voice. Her lips were chapped and moved slowly letting out the croaky song

Do you hear the people sing?

Singing the song of angry men,

This is the music of the boys inside the tavern over there

But what they don't all know is that the girl upon the street

Is all on her own due to Marius Pontmercy.

Would he give all he could give so that I'd live another day,

Would he fall in my place and would he stand in front of me

But would marble be a better protection for all to see.

Do you hear the people sing?

Singing the song of angry men

This is the song of the girl who gave up on life again

They will never know the hurt of a love that cannot be

I will lie here till the morn waiting for Monsieur Pontmercy.

She could feel the cold wrapping its arms around her and she let herself be held even if it was by something that wanted to take her away, she hummed herself to sleep and let the night take her slowly away.


	3. Complete Delirium

Eponine felt a wet cloth touch her forehead as she rose in and out of a delirious state of mind, she went to rise and felt a firm but gentle hand push her downwards. "Shhh rest now" she heard the voice say to her so she lay back down and allowed herself to be tended to. Eponine awoke 3 days later and she saw Enjolras asleep on the arm chair beside her bed , she smiled and realised he was still wearing the same clothes as the night he had told her he loved her. So he must have never left my side she thought to herself, unfortunately that thought was followed by; I wonder if Marius has been to visit.

Enjolras had found her lay on the street when he came out of Café Musain later that evening he called for Combeferre and he helped to carry her up into the Tavern. She was unconscious but still breathing, Combeferre made Enjolras leave the room and Enjolras paced the corridor over 500 times before Combeferre allowed him back in.

He had not left her side since.

Eponine watched as Enjolras slept and almost hated herself for not being able to love him, Marius was all she wanted and speaking of the devil he walked through the door.

"Morning 'Ponine, Marble Man here told me you were ill "Eponine's initial smile left her face as she realised he had just answered her question. He had not been to see her once. She could have easily cried if Enjolras had not awoke, he looked at Marius with contempt, he was destroying Eponine and even he could not see it. Enjolras knew that the night he had found Eponine she had not wanted to be found, he knew she would have died there on the pavement if nobody had found her. If anybody had cared enough to leave the drinking and games to go see if she was ok earlier she would not have been under for 3 day with a raging fever. Enjolras was the only one, the only one who cared.

He heard Marius come into the room and had instantly got up, he knew Eponine would need him to stop her crying, Marius smiled at him, the same sickly smile he wore whenever he had spent the night was Cosette. "Hey Enj" Enjolras shuddered, he hated it when people shortened his name, "you have been watching my 'Ponine for me, thanks mate" Enjolras gritted his teeth and managed to control his breathing enough to say your welcome. Eponine could see he was getting angry and was too weak to watch them argue, she was so bored with Marius and just wanted to spend time with Enjolras.

She wanted Enjolras.

She was finally free

She fake yawned and slowly closed her eyes. Marius took that as his signal to leave. Eponine suddenly let out a laugh, which only escaped when Marius had left the room. Enjolras tilted his head in bewilderment, "what, what is it?" he asked , Eponine was almost in full hysterics and Enjolras was about to call Combeferre to sedate her again until she looked up at him though full eyelashes and said " he is such a bastard isn't he!" she started laughing again , Enjolras' heart skipped a beat could it be true? Was Eponine finally giving her heart up, could she finally love him? He joined in the laughter and took her hand up in his own shakily. She grasped it back.

"Your not the one who broke me, Enjolras, you are the one who fixed me"


	4. Grantaire tells the truth

Enjolras was lost for words, Éponine had thanked him for saving here form a love that cannot be but he still had the niggling feeling at the back of his mind that she had not said she loved him and he stood outside the door to Eponine's room waiting for her to get the last of the flowers together. The biggest bunch had been sent by the Revolutionary boys and it was a beautiful collection of red, white and blue carnations.

They had come 2 days after Marius had visited and were amazed and shocked to see how the relationship between the two strongest in the group had grown. Grantaire was especially amazed that Éponine had finally found true love he just hoped that the same relief would come for him one day. So after Enjolras had been persuaded by the boys to get a drink at the Café Musain Grantaire tagged back and sat down by Éponine's bedside. She had her eyes closed and she seemed to be sleeping and Grantaire took her hand , "Éponine , you really need to get better I mean it is bad enough having to watch you and Enjolras have such a lovely blossoming relationship and not be able to tell you the truth! Éponine Thenardier I have loved you from the moment I met you and you were always so obsessed by Marius so I took to the bottle and left it at that, once we knew you were ill I tried so hard to come see you but the boys said I was never sober enough, I know now you love Enjolras and that is clear but I wanted you to know that I will never stop loving you from now until the moment I die." Grantaire kissed Éponine's hand and walked out of the room.

Éponine heard the door shut behind Grantaire and she let the tears roll down her face. She knew exactly how Grantaire was feeling she had felt the gnawing pain to many times before; it was a numb pain that gnawed into your chest until you felt that your heart was outside of your chest. Here she was feeling sorry for herself in hospital and it was one of her dearest friends who was in the most pain, she wanted to help him but she knew the only cure for love was to fall for another, if she was to save Grantaire from the same fate as herself before she found Enjolras she needed to act, and fast! She racked her brains for people that she knew or one person who could break Grantaire from the shell he had placed himself in. She suddenly remembered and smiled and tried to clime out of bed to get some paper and pen but her malnutritioned legs gave way and she fell to the floor. Nurses came running and they began to ask her what on earth she was after, she pointed tot the paper on the side and the nurse passé it over. Éponine was tired of talking so she wrote down the name and address and passed a note to the nurse asking whether she could contact this person to visit her. The nurse tutted but had grown to love Éponine during the time she was in the hospital so took it and within 1 day Éponine awoke to a slim figure sat by her bed. Musichetta was wearing a blue bonnet, she usually wore such a jolly expression but today she seemed sad. Éponine knew why , she had recently told Joly and Bossuet that she was not going to be shared any longer and did not want to be a mistress but a wife or at least a partner but nether were having it so she told them it was over. This was perfect opportunity thought Éponine.

She began to talk to Musichetta but then just on time Grantaire walked through the door his eyes were on Éponine almost instantly but then he shifted his gaze to the pretty girl sat in the chair by the bed she looked at him and black curls fell out form under the bonnet and looked up at him and extended her hand as a form of greeting. He smiled his crooked grin and he looked at Éponine and she gave him a knowing gaze which he responded to with an even bigger smile. He spoke to Éponine for barely 5 minutes but she could see he was agitated to talk to Musichetta alone so Éponine told them t go get a drink and she would see them soon. They walked out of the door and she saw Grantaire extend his arm for Musichetta she took it graciously and she saw that it would take abit more time but Musichetta would be the one to fix Grantaire

It was 2 weeks later when Éponine was to be discharged and in that time she had seen love blossom between herself and Enjolras and her two friends. She was strong now and her hair was silky and thick, her skin had regained some of its childish chubbiness and she was glad when she felt her dresses tighten against her. It showed she was becoming healthier and in Enjolras' opinion more beautiful than she already was. Her took her arm as she came out of the room, she looked up and him and smiled form under thick eyelashes her lips were full and Enjolras had longed to kiss her but he did not want her to feel pressured into anything she smiled wickedly at him and she stroked his cheek he saw that she wanted it as much as him so he did it and kissed her. She responded instantly and they stood there for 2 minutes locked in a passionate embrace. When they had released themselves from the lock she looked up at Enjolras. She knew now she was over Marius, he was her first love and she would never forget that but Enjolras was her future.

"I love you Enjolras"


	5. Authors note

Author Note : I never do this or disclaimers at the beginning because I believe it to be a waste of time that should be spent writing the story but I just wanted to apologise for the lack of enjolras and Eponine lately I have had ALOT going on and I have been doing exams to top it all of but I will be updating soon ! Thanks again for all the reviews and continue reading and enjoying , I hope 


	6. First time

**Author's Note : Rated M from now onwards due to this chapter. Sorry for any inconvenience. **

Enjolras was so happy but no matter how much Éponine loved him her love could not hold a barricade together. He truly believed in the cause and nothing and no one was going to stop him fighting for what he believed in , the fight was coming the people's man was dead and they needed to show the people of Paris that they were serious. They arrived back at Enjolras' temporary accommodation above the Café Musian where he had to stay after revolution meetings because Grantaire would be to drunk to share a room with. It was not money that was the problem, as long as Enjolras' father thought he was studying hard at the university then he would leave his so called "antics" be. His mother however knew that what Enjolras was working towards was not a few flyers, a couple of banners and song writing. She knew the truth behind the revolution and as much as she pined for her son to come home she was incredibly proud of what he was doing. Someday Enjolras would take Éponine to meet his family and she would be welcomed with warm arms. His family was certainly not as rich and stuck up there own arses like Marius and his own family but they had worked hard, breeding livestock and running a farm. His father had scraped together every penny that they ad to send Enjolras to university but he knew that his boy would never be happy on the farm, running it say, not playing like a child again. Yes, they would love Éponine and her down to earth ways. He walked into the flat and inhaled the familiar musky smell, he was home. He never really liked his University accommodation, it always smelt of vomit and days old alcohol and wet paint whereas the rooms above the tavern smelt of wine and smoke from the cigarettes. It always smelt of fresh food and warm buttery toast and the room always welcomed him back with all theses lovely smells. Éponine looked around and smiled, Enjolras walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her petite waist she snuggled into him and she began to grow weary again. Enjolras lay her down on the bed and began to pull the blankets over her when she pulled him down for a kiss, the kiss began to grow more and more passionate and Enjolras climbed into the bed beside her. She pulled him on top of her and his straddled her with his strong legs. She began to rip of his shirt with her hands and she found her way down to his belt, she whipped it of and his trousers were, from then on, easily pulled down. He wore nothing underneath and he was completely naked on top of her, she smirked at his and he began to kiss down her chest unbuttoning her blouse as he went. She arched her back to this new feeling and by the time he was done she lay completely naked under her. Enjolras suddenly realised this was probably Éponine's first time so he knew he would have to be gentle, he found her already wet and she looked at him with longing in her eyes as he pushed into her. She clenched onto him at first in pain but as the thrusting became faster and more deep she felt something building up inside, she could see by Enjolras' face he was feeling the same. She felt him spill into her and this pushed her over the edge as she let her body become racked with sheer delight. He finally collapsed on top of her and they lay together, for the first time, as two who became one.


End file.
